Latest News – The Horse

In the treatment of horses suffering from the West Nile virus (WNV), vets have only a few choices besides supportive care. A novel WNV serum antibody product received conditional approval from the USDA in November 2004. Colorado Serum Company announced the product’s availability on Dec. 13, 2004.

Serum antibody products help animals that have been exposed to a disease by increasing th

Coolmore stallion owners are donating one nomination to every one of their stallions worldwide to aid humanitarian efforts following the earthquake-tsunami catastrophe in Asia and Africa, Coolmore announced Dec. 30.

The stud farm in Versailles, Ky., also is offering to assist and facilitate other stud farms interested in donating seasons to their stallions.

The total fund will

Cryptorchid, ridgling, and even rig are terms used to describe a stallion with at least one undescended testis. The condition is not unique to equids, but the horse is of specific importance as the retained testis fails to produce viable sperm, so fertility rates are affected. However, the testis is still capable of producing testosterone, so the animal will show stallion-like behavior. The

Editor’s Note: This is the first installment in a 12-part series of articles on vaccinations of horses.

Of all the medical advances in the past couple of centuries, the one that might be the most remarkable is also the one we’re most likely to take for granted. The simple pinprick of an intramuscular injection taking less than 10 seconds protects our families, our pets,

The world is getting smaller every day. People and horses travel across the country and around the planet at rates never seen before. It has opened up huge opportunities for competition, growth, and learning. Unfortunately, it has also given us increased opportunities to be exposed to a growing number of diseases. Never before has it been so important to connect with your veterinarian to focu

September 15th is a day I will never forget. The Dearborn County Sheriff’s office asked if I would respond to a horse trailer accident involving 50 horses, and I was on my way. I was the only vet present to help fire and rescue personnel extract 20 horses from an overturned horse trailer. Once that was done, my tech and I began triage of 30 horses suffering from traumatic injuries.

I hop

I purchased a 3-year-old Thoroughbred gelding with a fractured knee. My veterinarian put him on lay-up for an additional four months of stall rest. I am concerned about nutrition during both the period of stall rest and the subsequent turnout.

My 2-year-old filly clipped a fence post in a pasture eight months ago. The result was a slab fracture of the right hind long pastern bone. My vet attempted to repair it with a screw, which failed to hold the fragment in place

Your answer to the question about the fellow with the peculiar method of “dominating stallions” (December 2003, www.TheHorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?id=4749) led to a very long discussion where I work. We all agreed that the guy’s method sounded weird and disgusting. But then our discussion drifted into a little war of the sexes. We

Fresh water is important to horses all year, especially in winter. Some waterers are designed to remain functional in cold weather–with an insulated tank or bowl, a heater, or a combination of a heating unit and insulation. Following are some of the ways you can keep water flowing to your horses even when it’s below freezing.

Insulated Buckets

Buckets made of insulating

If your performance horse does well on a balanced diet, can he do better with some extra, immune-boosting nutrients? What about young horses and aging horses, ill horses and healthy horses, working horses and lightly ridden horses?

For sure, studies show that extra amounts of certain nutrients benefit the immune system–but not in every case. Some horses don’t need and can’t use extra

Learn about this disease in young horses that leads to enlarged, painful areas just above the knees or hocks.

The amazing part of the problem for our horses is that while stress is a known cause for ulcers, it can take only a matter of days for ulcers to start. And besides GastroGard, the only approved treatment is to take horses out of training and put them out to pasture. So, it looks like gastric ulcer syndrome in horses is often a man-made disease, and we should be aware of it and help our horses.